The Jack Kilborn 200

The Kilborn 200 Book Tour is in effect. I'm currently acting like a wanna-be writer, blogging at the Starbucks near the University of Cincinnati.

But, unlike those wanna-bes, I refuse to pay $20 to connect to the Internet. Shouldn't Wifi be free? Am I all alone in this belief?

So I'll write this now, and post it when I can connect without paying. This is, after all, a budget tour.

The Drop-In Book Tour on a Budget is an interesting beast. The goal is to meet as many booksellers and sign as many books as possible, using the least amount of time and money.

My publisher is partially sponsoring the tour, so in order to stretch their bucks I'm staying at the houses of peers and fans, eating at gas stations, and trying to only drive downwind.

So far, I've driven 742 miles, dropped in 47 bookstores, and only spent $92.

You may be asking: Joe, what's the point?

The point is threefold.

1. Signed books sell better than unsigned books, get displayed face-out, and are (usually) retained by bookstores rather than returned.

2. Meeting booksellers is good for your long term sales.

3. In self-promotion, doing something tends to be more effective than doing nothing.

If you're looking for signed copies of Afraid and my other titles, here are the bookstores where I've signed stock over the past few days:

Borders Oakbrook IL

Borders Wheaton IL

B&N Wheaton IL

B&N Naperville IL

Andersons Naperville IL

Borders Naperville IL

Waldenbooks Aurora IL

Waldenbooks Peru IL

Borders Geneva IL

B&N Geneva IL

Borders St. Charles IL

B&N Bloomingdale IL

B&N Schaumburg IL

Borders Schaumburg IL

B&N Old Orchard IL

Borders Skokie IL

Borders Evanston IL

Waldenbooks Lincolnwood IL

Borders Lincolnwood IL

B&N Skokie IL

Borders Crystal Lake IL

B&N Crystal Lake IL

Borders Algonquin IL

B&N West Dundee IL

Borders McHenry IL

B&N Merrilville IN

Borders Merrilville IN

B&N West Lafayette IN

Borders West Lafayette IN

B&N Greenwood IN

The Mystery Company Carmel IN

Borders Carmel IN

B&N Carmel IN

Borders Meridian Indy IN

Borders River Crossing Indy IN

Joseph-Beth Cincinnati OH

Borders Eastgate Cincy OH

Borders Colerain Cincy OH

B&N Waterstone Cincy OH

B&N Montogemry Cincy OH

Waldenbooks Cincy OH

B&N Newport KY

B&N Florence KY

Waldenbooks Dayton OH

B&N Beavercreek OH

Borders Dayton OH

B&N Miamisburg Dayton OH

Borders US 31 Indy IN

Borders Castleton Indy IN

B&N Indy IN

So that's 47 stores so far, 153 to go. I also didn't count the 14 stores in Illinois and Wisconsin that I visited with Barry Eisler a few weeks ago, because I'll be visiting them again.

Tomorrow, more of Kentucky.

Monday and Tuesday, Nashville and Atlanta.

Wednesday, Florida.

Some shout-outs to Jane Bretl and her terrific family, and the multi-talented James Daniel Ross (and Jennifer Ross) for putting up with my intrusive presence. Everyone reading this should click on their names and check out their most excellent sites.

See you on the road...